Wild Stringdom with John Petrucci: Moving Across the Fretboard in Unusual Ways to Produce Unique Runs

These videos are bonus content related to the February 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

Over the years, people have noticed that when I play certain runs, my fingers move in the opposite direction of the notes that they hear.

For example, as my fret hand moves up the fretboard, the sequence of notes that is heard descends (and vice versa). For this month’s column, I’ve put together a few runs that demonstrate this unusual approach as applied to both ascending and descending patterns.

This kind of “positional wizardry” can be used to generate interesting melodic patterns that can be used in a variety of ways.

Practice Tips from Dream Theater's John Petrucci (9/29/2015) Here are a few handy practice tips from John Petrucci, as originally published in the handy July 2004 issue of Guitar World.
01. Have a goal.
Say to yourself, “During this hour I’m going to master this passage.” There’s nothing wrong with noodli...

John Petrucci Visits Guitar Center — Video (5/11/2015) Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci recently visited the Platinum Room at the Carle Place, New York, Guitar Center.
During his visit, he discussed his musical beginnings, the genesis of his sound and his signature guitars with Ernie Ball Music...

Sterling by Music Man Previews New JP60-MGR John Petrucci Guitar (12/19/2014) If you read the Ernie Ball forum, you'll already have noticed the company has sort of announced the new Sterling by Music Man JP60-MGR guitar.
If not, check out the recent post about the new John Petrucci model right here:
"Here's a quick previe...

John Petrucci play tests Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 mini amp (11/21/2014) Read more about John Petrucci play tests Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 mini amp at MusicRadar.com The guitar world erupted with excitement at the news that Mesa/Boogie had been beavering away on a 25-watt mini head version of its legendary Mar